


Other Stories Of Romance

by WritingTheInserts



Series: Golden Girl and Keeping Promises [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingTheInserts/pseuds/WritingTheInserts
Summary: Set in the Golden Girl and Keeping Promises universe, there are other love stories to read about!
Relationships: Goshiki Tsutomu/Reader, Semi Eita/Reader, Shirabu Kenjirou/Reader, Yamagata Hayato/Reader
Series: Golden Girl and Keeping Promises [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777216
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. Biggest Comfort (Semi Eita x Reader)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reader is Golden Girl's Old setter from middle school

You were easily his biggest comfort. Your lazy look and taped up fingers made him excited when he saw them in the hall, and your oversized sweater was always filled with snacks and other pleasures that were appreciated. When the winter months came around, you would not hesitate to hold him if he got cold. Sometimes he purposefully forgot a layer or two so that you would hold him longer. You were easy to talk to, and you had interesting things to say. You both had gone to the same high school, but it took college to bring you two together. It made his heart soar with how much he could touch you, but it also pained him to think that you weren't exclusive to him. He planned to change that very soon... Maybe

If he could ever muster up the courage. He loved talking to you late at night, and he loved talking to you when you both were just barely awake in the morning. Without you, the campus of over 8,000 students would feel empty and bare.

"Eita, you've gotten better at dressing yourself." Your lazy drawl made him want to tackle you in a flurry of kisses.

"What's that supposed to mean? You wear the same sweater every day!" He teased you back. The way your eyelashes fluttered as you shut your eyes made his heart race.

"Hey, It's utilitarian. You want chips? Need a band-aid? I got you covered." You began digging in the pockets of your sweater.

"When's the last time you washed it?" Eita asks as he played with the ends of your barely brushed hair. You huffed as you stuff a plastic baggie of cheesy crackers back into your pockets.

"You were there you dope! Just the other day! You let me wear your jacket!" He didn't forget. He had been carefully avoiding smothering the scent you left on it. It's the same jacket you always wore when your oversized backpack of a jacket was getting washed. He made sure of it.

"Ah, right," Eita says in a teasing tone. "So you coming to volleyball today? I heard the girls' team is officially taking a break, but the boys' team is allowing any girl to come practice with us." You smiled as you extended and retracted your fingers.

"I think I want to. I want to keep in good shape for when practice starts back up again." You finally seemed satisfied with how stretched out your long fingers were and placed them in your sleeve. "You don't mind a second setter there, do you?" You question your good friend. He burrowed into your sleeve with his own hand to find yours. He gave it a squeeze as he smiled.

"Don't worry about it. It's not like they're gonna throw me off the team and throw my jersey on you." He joked, but you knew very well that was his own morbid humor. While in high school, you had heard about the setter debacle on the boys' team, but you paid more attention to your own setter position on the girls' team. Looking back, you wish you hadn't. You wished you paid attention to him and comforted him at that time. Looking back, you had the perfect opportunity to meet him and everything. You both were in the same year, same sport, same position, first string, hell, you were even close friends with the manager at the time. You used to set for her, but you kept your eyes focused on your own side. It was your biggest regret.

"Well, we should get a move on then. We'll be late to class you know... again."

The lecture was long and tedious. The subtle shifting of arms as you took notes was rhythmic as you followed the string of words being spewed by the professor. Eita eventually became tired, feeling the urge to touch you again. Luck was on his side, however, as you must have been feeling the urge as well. You leaned over on his shoulder as you continued writing. He returned the affection by leaning into you. Your smile was just barely visible out of the corner of his eye, but the still caught the subtle upturn. His heart raced as his mind began to fill with thoughts of you. He struggled to focus.

He'd probably have to ask you for the notes again.

"Do you want to get something to eat before practice? Or do you need to head back to your dorm for things?" You ask Eita as he packs up his bag. He shakes his head as he stuffs the last journal in.

"I have my change of clothes. I'd be happy to get something to eat. I'm surprised though, you usually have something in those pockets of yours."

"My pockets currently have my medical tape, journal, knee pads... Oh! And a pen in my sleeve with my phone. In my bag I have my shoes, my water bottle, and bandages." you show him the tiny bag and he sweats. Why couldn't you just carry a larger backpack? "So I have no room for food today." He gives you a sigh and smiles.

"Not even a stick of gum, huh?" he teases you again. You smile your lazy smile and begin digging in your sleeve.

"I have one piece of gum, do you want it?" your taped hands held it gingerly. He began to laugh. You would never be dull to him.

As you both arrive at the little restaurant you love dearly, Eita quickly makes it clear to you that he was paying. You tried to protest, saying he paid for the last one too, but he had already begun ordering your usual along with his, completely ignoring your protests. You pout at him, but your cute pout made the move even more worth it for him. You at first begrudgingly ate, but you couldn't help but let bliss envelop your expression. You truly did love the little restaurant, and you loved spending time with Eita. you sometimes wished though that he would let you treat him.

"Kamasaki says he wants to try something today, and it has me worried." Eita began a casual conversation about his volleyball team. He didn't follow any of his old teammates into their respective colleges, so he had to start fresh with a new team. The college team he was currently on relished the fact that he was a gifted setter that thought carefully about his moves. He wasn't a setter that was just a way to get the ball to the ace. You listen in carefully and nod.

"When aren't you worried about something he wants to try? I'm sure you aren't the only one worried though." you felt the urge to touch him again, even if it was a slight one.

"Yeah, Yaku's been on him recently about being reckless and rash. Says he thought he didn't have to deal with that kind of immaturity once he got into college." you laugh as you place a hand on the table you shared. He debated covering your hand with his.

"Well, at least he's the only big problem you guys have." Eita sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose

"And man is he a problem." You place a hand on your chin as you watch him think about all the trouble the middle blocker has given him. You had heard that just recently he tried to instigate a fight with Ushijima at a match. The wing spiker was not amused. "Middle blockers are always giving me trouble."

"Well, back in high school, Kawanishi just hated everything and everyone, Tendou was... you know,"

"Trouble, weird, unreadable, crazy?" He joked. "And now I have one of the pieces of the Iron wall trying to start shit with anything and everything. At least Matsukawa doesn't give me much trouble."

"You've never noticed? I think he just silently screws with you." You begin fiddling with your phone in your sleeve. Eita gives you a confused look. "On occasion, he and Hanamaki will swap jerseys." You then pop another bite of food into your mouth as Eita slowly comes to terms with this new piece of information. "Sorry, I thought you knew. I would have told you sooner if I knew."

"No, You have nothing to apologize for. I'll let Yaku know..." He lets out an exasperated sigh. He was tired before practice even began. At least you'd be there, his biggest comfort. He felt your fingers brush up against his knees, and he gladly laces his fingers between yours. He gave your hand a squeeze and gave you a smile.

You were ready to go. Your knee pads fit snugly over your leggings, and a t-shirt with a cute logo covered your torso. You had your signature sweater tied around your waist. If you needed, then you would throw it to the side. You and a few other girls thanked the boys' team for allowing you to practice with them today.

You and Eita began discussing ideas and techniques as your teams began to go about their practice. Your ace, however, wanted your full attention.

"(Name)-chan! Toss for me! Toss for me!" she called for you as she made tossing motions with her hands. You sighed and tighten the sweater around your waist.

"Okay, just give me a sec." Eita nods at you to let you know you were fine to toss to your ace. She was older, and she was just as volleyball crazed as your old ace. She begins bouncing as she watches you slowly approach. You did so on purpose, as you noticed her spikes were more powerful when charged up like this. She was like a terrier watching a squirrel before bursting out into the yard.

Eita loved watching you toss. Your form was elegant and crisp, a stark difference from your normal slouched posture. Once you tossed one to your ace, she demanded another. Eita and you both knew you weren't getting away from her for a while. Eita gave you a quick smile and wave before turning his attention to his own team. Matsukawa and Hanamaki jump him quickly, however, and each grabs an arm. He jumps out of surprise and tries to escape his unknown fate. The more the setter struggles, the further he is dragged out of your sights.

"What the- What the hell are you guys doing?" He protests against his teammates as they drag him towards Yaku. The libero seemed to have a grave expression on his face as he had his fingers laced together in front of his chin. He was sitting on the ground as he waited for the two to drag the setter near him

"We brought him," Hanamaki states as he stares at Yaku with a blank face.

"Yaku! What the hell?!" Eita begins to yell at the libero. You were too preoccupied with the endless ball of energy ace that was demanding toss after toss to notice the poor object of your affections being held captive by the two former Aoba Josai players.

"Semi... I had them drag you over here with me because we've all had enough. Even Kamasaki and Nakashima's had enough. Just ask her out already." Yaku let his hands fall into his lap out of exasperation. Eita furrowed his brow and gave him a confused stare. Aforementioned blond middle blocker suddenly notices the meeting and rushes over to be apart of the carnage. Yaku had enough of your obvious pining for one another like you were on a B rate soap opera, and he had enough of you both claiming it was a 'really close friendship.'

"(L/Name)-san, ask out (L/Name)." Matsukawa prods Eita.

"If you don't do it tonight, we're going to tell her for you tomorrow during her first lecture." Eita choked as Kamasaki slid in with a sadistic grin on his face. Yaku immediately placed his hand over Kamasaki's mouth, however, to keep him from shouting.

"Or we can just tell her right now, your pick," Yaku says in a calm tone, obviously he was the ringleader in the operation. "I can get Nakashima to tell her in less than 2 seconds." Eita begins to sweat as he looks over at where you stood. A boy with a brown buzzcut was now assisting you and your ace with her spikes. He gave a quick glance over to his setter, smiles, then returns his attention back to your tossing.

"Why are you ganging up on me!?" he barks at them, and they all sigh.

"This is for your own good Semi." Yaku places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a valiant look "We're doing this for you. We're supporting you."

"It really doesn't feel all that supportive as much as it feels forced!" Eita retorts. Yaku sighs again and looks at Kamasaki and removes his hand from his mouth.

"Give Nakashima the signal." Just as the tall blond was about to lift his hand, Eita panics

"WAIT! I'll do it! I'll do it tonight! Just let me do it! Just don't out me!" Eita's heart could have burst through his ribcage and flopped on the floor at how panicked he was. His eyes widen as he bites his lower lip. How was he going to tell you?

After you both finished up, you threw your sweater back on and changed out of your volleyball shoes. You were still slightly warm, so you rolled up your sleeves a little bit. The cool air of the night chilled your warmed skin slightly. Eita seemed uncomfortable no matter what he did.

As you both took to the sidewalks and headed back to the dorms, you started idly chatting with him like you always would. This is how it always was, ever since you could talk to him like this.

"Man, the terrier was ruthless today. It didn't help that Nakashima fed into that energy too." Eita nodded at you nervously.

"U-Uh-huh." he choked out. You quickly took notice. Eita was more nervous than usual. You had seen this nervousness before. You saw it when you first began to make friends with him. You saw it again when you began getting touchy with him.

"Eita?" you stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to face him. "Something up?" you began to slowly roll down your sleeves. You began to feel nervous as well. The cool chill of anxiety envelops you. His eyes scanned every inch of you, and his hands lifted up slightly to catch your taped-up fingers. Sometimes you loved your sensitivity to his moods, you got to feel his slight giddiness when he got a toss just right or the subtle bliss of enjoying his favorite foods, but then there were times like now where you could feel his nervousness and anxiety. You could feel the pressure of something.

His eyes close for a brief second before refocusing back on you with an anxious look. He laces his fingers once again with yours

"Could you spend the night? Please?" his face became gentle as his hands gripped yours. "I have something important I want to talk with you about." You looked at him with a slightly parted mouth and wide eyes. You could tell whatever it was, it was urgent. You could feel your heart beating it's way up your chest. You bit your lip as you swallowed in an attempt to control it once again. You nod at him and agree to spend the night with him.

"Sorry it's such short notice, (Name)," He tells you as he sits outside his bathroom, waiting for you to be done changing into clothes he's lent you.

"It's fine, If it's going to happen again though, I should leave some clothes here or something." His dorm room was a single person suite that you constantly complained about him being lucky getting, seeing as you yourself were in a four-person suite. He would always tell you that he deserved it after being Tendou's roommate for 3 years.

"Yeah..." He replied quietly. You picked up on his tone and opened the bathroom door.

"Eita, what did you want to talk to me about? Is everything okay?" You panicked slightly. What if he didn't want to be around you anymore? What if he didn't want you touching him anymore? What if he secretly hated you? Your mind raced irrationally, and your usually calm disposition faded fast.

Upon seeing your panicked face, he jumps up and wraps his arms around you, softly stroking your back. You gladly grab at his back to soothe yourself. Why did he want you here?

"(Name), I'm sorry if I worried you." He begins. "I just need you to know something, okay? No matter what, I want you with me." He felt his face turn red as he reluctantly backed out of your embrace. He then led you to his bedside and had you sit with him. It was now or never. "I asked you to be here with me tonight because... You've been the biggest comforts I've had here since I started. You were there for me, and I think I can't go a day now without touching you at least once, going one day without speaking to you is unthinkable for me, and I sure as hell don't even want to think about a day without seeing you." He gripped your hand tighter.

"Eita?" You stare up at his blush. Some of your hair had fallen into your face, only slightly hiding your own flushed face. You could slowly feel yourself leaning closer to him.

"I want us to be exclusive with one another, I love you." He could barely look you in the eye as he confessed his feelings for you. As those three words left his mouth, a breath was snatched from your lungs as an invisible wind blew past. You became restless as he stared at you, and you finally threw your arms around him and kissed him passionately. He would quickly return and deepen the kiss as he weaved his fingers through your hair with one hand and gripped the small of your back with the other.

As your kiss became more heated, you both fell onto his bed, allowing him to go even further with his kiss.

A phone buzzed from beneath the bed as it lay on an oversized sweater. The sweater muffled the sound of Eita receiving a message from Yaku

10:38 **From Yaku:** Semi, did you do it?

10:42 **From Yaku:** Semi?

10:45 **From Yaku:** Wait wait Semi, you aren't...

10:49 ******From Yaku:** HOLY SHIT SEMI

 **From Semi:** I'm not. Leave me alone. I'm busy.

 **From Yaku:** THAT "I'M BUSY" DOESN'T HELP YOUR CASE

 **From Yaku:** THIS IS KAMASAKI HOLY HELL SEMI GET IT

 **From Semi:** Watch the back of your head the next time I serve.

With an aggravated glare, he tosses his phone away and continues to embrace you in his bed, placing a soft kiss on the crown of your head. You cuddled him closer under the soft sheets and took a deep breath to fully take in his scent. Your fingertips ran up and down the middle of his chest.

"I love you, Eita" you finally respond properly to his confession, and he smiled. He gripped you tighter and buries his face into the top of your head.

"I love you too (Name)"

You were easily his biggest comfort. Your big (E/C) eyes and your heavenly voice would forever have him wrapped around your finger. Your kiss was something he had only dreamed of before, but now he knew that it was his most favorite thing in the world. He was excited that you were now exclusively his, and his alone. He couldn't wait for all the things to come with you two. You and that oversized sweater of yours.


	2. Biggest Comfort Prequel (Semi Eita x Reader)

He bit the tip of his pen as he became more and more frustrated. You looked so familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He swore he knew you, but couldn't remember from where. Was it from a tv show? Maybe a magazine, you were gorgeous after all. You sat in the lecture hall with a tired, calm look on your face as your giant oversized sweater hung off your body. He continued to look you up and down until the shorter boy next to him (Which he recently became acquainted with through volleyball) elbowed him in the stomach.

"Dude, what are you doing, it's literally the 3rd day and you're checking out girls?" Semi shook his head as he looked to the brown-haired boy next to him. He was fiddling with his pen slightly as he looked you over once again

"No, no, I swear I've seen her somewhere before..." Semi squinted at you again, causing him to completely miss the lesson. "Does she look familiar to you, Yaku?"

Yaku sighs as he puts his pencil down to finally look over at you. With a quick scan, he decided on his answer.

"No." He quickly went back to the lesson. He knew that he would be alright, but he had seen how much Semi had struggled before in the class. He was a hard worker, so he could get by with good grades, but not without a fight.

"Not even a little bit? Dude, I'm going crazy here." Semi sighs before collapsing into his folded arms that rested on the long table in front of the pair.

"You're crazy for obsessing over a girl instead of focusing on the class that gives you the most trouble." Yaku states as he copies down bullet points from the large projector in front of the duo. Semi's eyes widen before shooting his attention back to the front of the class and furiously writes down the points being made on the slide.

Later that day, Yaku got curious about a restaurant that was on campus and decided to investigate. Semi tagged along but was still distracted by the thought of you.

"This place isn't half bad." Yaku pokes around at his food as Semi stares deep into the bowl in front of him. "Not too pricey either."

"Uh huh..." Semi replies as he zoned out again. Yaku huffed and swiftly kicked Semi's shin. "OW!"

"Are you still thinking about that girl?! Dude! Leave it! You don't know her!" Yaku stuffed food in his mouth as he glared and pouted. He was becoming annoyed at Semi's obsessive behavior. Semi ran a hand down his leg to soothe the newly injured shin. He was becoming more and more aware of Yaku's incredible strength.

"Yeah, yeah, you're probably right," Semi admitted before letting out a sigh. He ran his hand back up his leg as the sting in his femur began to die down.

"You should eat you know. You need plenty of nutrients for practice. You're a talented setter, but that means nothing if you have no energy." Yaku begins taking normal bites once again as he monitors his friends consuming.

"You sound almost exactly like my old manager from Shiratorizawa. She was super into food science and nutrition."

"She's the one that's dating Ushiwaka right?" Yaku shifts his eyes to the entrance as he spots something.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up an online order for (L/Name) (Name)?" You state lazily as you play with the cuffs of your giant jacket. You were ignorant of the pair of eyes that were now on you. Semi's brain began to rattle again as he heard your voice. He's certain he's heard it before. Yaku notices and begins to pout again.

"Are you going to say you swear you know her again?" The libero questions as he takes another bite.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm really sure I do," Semi said with an exasperated tired tone as he began to look you over again. Your large sweater was draped over your body with a tiny bag on your back. He pondered as to how you could carry around anything with that bag. Yaku gives an even more exasperated smile.

"Look, if you know her, go talk to her." Semi whips around after that comment and quipped back.

"And what if she doesn't know me! Then I look like a creep!" Yaku was just as quick.

"And you don't look like one now, squinting at her and rattling her brain?" The duo grimaces at one another as you walk out with your dinner.

The next day Semi was even more perplexed. His team was having a joint practice with the girls, and he intensely stares at you. Hanamaki notices and elbows Matsukawa.

"What do you think the swan's staring at? Her body?"

"Her form's kinda nice, could be that," Matsukawa replies as he traces your set's trajectory. A rowdy looking second year jumps up and smacks the ball to the ground as a smile on her face widens.

"Hey! (L/Name)! Another one!" The second-year yells as she gets ready for another toss.

'(L/Name)... where have I heard that before?!' Semi rattled his brain as he watched another one of your fantastic sets. He couldn't lie, you were gorgeous when you tossed the way you did. The more you tossed the more he dug into his brain.

Once practice was over, he couldn't help but feel his heart quicken when you passed. You stopped all this thinking and frustrated scavenging when you laughed. He observed you pull that oversized sweater of yours over your head to get cooler air on your torso. Yaku was about to kick Semi's still bruised shins, but then he noticed a peculiar logo on your shirt.

It was a Shiratorizawa high school volleyball shirt. Yaku began to stare as well as he realized that his new friend's obsession might not be baseless after all.

"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE (L/NAME) (NAME)!" Semi screams, causing you to flinch

"Eh?"

"You're my old manager's setter, right?" He watched as your head began to churn with ideas and connections.

"Oh! You mean ace? You were on her team, weren't you!" You turn excitedly and smile "Yeah! You're a setter and pinch serve!" Semi smiles as your face begins to light up.

"Yeah!" He rubs the back of his head as he begins to drink in everything that was beautiful about you. Your laugh, your smile, your easy-going attitude, he could feel himself falling.

"Right! I remember now!" you place your hand on his shoulder and smiled. He felt his heart race as you looked him in the eye with those gorgeous irises. He fell in love with the way your touch felt. He began to notice your mouth move and was excited for what you had to say next.

"What's your name again?"

All the first years on the boys' team burst into a fit of laughter.


	3. Tutor (Shirabu Kenjiro x Reader)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Reader is Golden Girl's second and third year roommate

God this was annoying. You didn't even want to go to this school, and god were your grades showing it. Your dad was pissed, to say the least. He had called you to his large imposing office while you visited home. The walls were lined with all sorts of books and delicate law books that were older than you were. He had a cabinet that was filled with fragile trinkets that each cost a pretty penny. Photos from your childhood rested on the large wooden desk that your father sat at. The floor was covered by a large red rug that you knew he imported from Turkey. A large portrait of your grandfather hung behind him, glaring down at you like your father was. You sat there in uncomfortable, stiff clothing that made you look like modern royalty. You had silk gloves covering your hands so that the ink stains wouldn't be visible while you spoke to your well-dressed father. You politely sat up as he spoke to you.  
  
"You're supposed to take over the Law Firm (Name)! How are you supposed to do that when you're failing basic English!?" your dad slams down the report card with enough force to cause some pens to roll off. You bow your head in shame to him, letting some of your perfectly arranged hair to fall. You really didn't care about the law firm. You didn't know what you wanted to do with your life, but it sure as hell wasn't the law. You wanted to go back to the dorms and escape him already. He slammed his fist on the table again before taking a deep breath and a swig of whiskey. "I've hired another tutor for you. He attends the same school as you and will be living on campus with you. Meet him, and BE NICE, this is the 8th tutor I've had to hire because you've scared the rest off. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir..." you replied back. What a pain. Now you had another tutor you had to work with, great, just what you needed. Someone who's going to not really give a damn and maybe be trying to get into your pants so that they can get money. It's a boy too, so he's probably gonna be dense. Guess there's only one choice, and that's to try and scare him off like you did the last ones. Your dad's gonna be pissed again, but he never did anything more than slam his desk and yell. You sigh again.

Later that day your tutor sent you a text saying he'd be in the library at 7. You scoff. Why that late? Was he lazy or something? Oh well. It didn't matter to you much. It means you got to rest most of the day and draw, but it also meant you had to eat earlier and leave the dorm at a weird time. God, why couldn't you just have gone to any other school besides Shiratorizawa? You were forced into this school because it was your dad's alma mater. You couldn't care less. The school was remarkably large and breathtakingly beautiful, but you hated it. Why couldn't you have gone to an art school? The school stood for everything you hated about your life. It valued the strong and powerful over the tenacious and bold, it had all sorts of rigorous testing to get in if you didn't get a sports scholarship, but you could easily get around them if you were from a wealthy family. Students seemed to have pride for no other reason than they could. They held their heads high for no other reason than believing they were better. Believing that they could never lose, and it's why last year was a breath of fresh air when the precious volleyball team lost. Sure your old roommate was heartbroken, but it seemed right. Maybe it was just a romantic idea that you had, but forming your own path instead of standing on the backs of giants always seemed cooler and more rewarding.

You entered the library a little late. It was 7:05. If they were like you thought they would be, then he would be a dense nerd who wanted nothing more than to try and get into your family's wealth. You looked at the text and soon found the table where he was supposed to meet you. You look up and see a very peeved boy who had a textbook out and was looking over notes.

"You Shirabu?" you called to him with an unimpressed look. He whipped his copper head around with a slight glare on his face.

"(L/Name) (Name)?" He questioned. You nodded. "You're late." you were a bit surprised by this, but it took no time at all for you to roll your eyes and sit in the chair across from him.

"So? By 5 minutes. You going to get anal about that every time?"

"Sorry, your lack of club activities must make you a very busy person. Let's get started." Did he just sass you?! You click your tongue and took out your books. You'd have to work harder to scare this guy off if he's willing to sass you back.

He immediately got under your skin. He was way too smart for his own good, and he was captain of the pretentious volleyball team. He would push you to try harder and wouldn't let you slack off on anything. So you got tougher.

"Alright bowl cut, I got it." He lifted his eyes to her and raised his eyebrows. He clearly was not impressed

"Believe me. I'm not the worst bowl cut on campus." he took his pen and pointed at an answer you wrote down. "Also, flip these." you let out a frustrated sigh, not that you had gotten the answer wrong, but that he let your insult roll so effortlessly off him. He seemed to become less and less affected by your insults and abrasive personality. You decided to pay even less attention by doodling on the side of your paper. This is where he got more annoyed by you. He had only taken the tutoring job because he wanted to afford some new athletic shoes and knee pads. He, his vice-captain and the manager had also been splitting the cost of treating the team when they had done well. The past few times it had all been coming out of the manager's and vice captain's wallets, however. He needed to pay them back. He didn't mind the job itself, but you were an absolute challenge to work with. He glanced at the clock hoping that maybe it was almost time to end your study session, but he was only an hour and a half into a three-hour tutoring session.

You glance up at him and give a snide smile. You could tell that he was getting frustrated with you. Your tactics were working.

"S'matter? Am I too stupid for you, mega geek?" you smile again. Just a little more. You twirl your pencil in between your fingers.

"Incredibly so." He said with a flat face "that's wrong. Try again." you click your tongue once more. He became composed again.

As he explained another problem, he noticed you doodling again. He took an annoyed breath and snatched the expensive mechanical pencil from your hands. You look up at him with a bored look and an empty hand.

"You can have it back when you're answering a question," he says to you as he placed the pencil near him. You blinked as you stared at him in silence. He then witnessed you look him dead in the eye as you reached down to your bag, unzipped it, reached in, pulled out an identical mechanical pencil, and continue doodling. You only broke eye contact with him to look at your doodle. He began to understand why your father paid him so much. You were incredibly difficult. You challenged his every move and smiled when he got frustrated. Three hours couldn't pass quick enough.

"Am I becoming too much yet, Kenjiro?" you jab and use his given name.

"I need to ask your father for a raise." he glared at you as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well that's the entire reason you're here, isn't it? The money?" You retort. Your eyes narrowed at him as you awaited the clock to move those final five minutes.

"Yup. you are entirely correct. I want to be paid and move on with my life." you look at him surprised. He noticed and narrowed his eyes as he turned his head slightly "What did you think I was doing? Your father pays well. I need new shoes and to be able to treat my team whenever they do well." he bobbed his head as he spoke to accentuate his point. You blink several times before looking down at your doodles.

"To be honest every tutor he's hired has tried to get in my pants at least once in hopes of getting into my family and taking over the law firm my father runs, so you're weird compared to them."

"How am I weird for not wanting to get in your pants!? Why would I torture myself and spend the rest of my life with you just so I can have some stupid law firm!?" you then let out a laugh. His honesty was something else. You settled yourself down before snatching your pencils back from him and stuffing them into your bag.

"You are weird." You reply before leaving 2 minutes earlier than 10 pm. He notices and becomes peeved by it. God, you were going to be a challenge.

The next day he was paid a bit extra by your father to check on your note taking during lunch. Honestly, he didn't want to, and checking on you was the last of his concerns, but he did it anyway. While you were a pain in the ass, the money was nice. He sighed as he made his way into the mess hall and looked for you. He wasn't surprised when he saw you eating alone. Your abrasive attitude must have scared off a lot of people. He noticed you staring straight at something while your hand moved in what he assumed to be a sketchbook. You never looked down at the sketchbook once, and your hand never lifted from the page. He walked calmly over to you, knowing that the calm he felt was probably about to leave him in less than a minute.

Once he was close, you still didn't acknowledge him. You were staring directly at a bottle that was placed in front of you, and you had refused to lift your gaze.

"What's up bowl cut?" You could see him out of the corner of your eye.

"I need to check and see if you're taking adequate notes." Shirabu was already tired. He's only known you for a day, but you were by far the most difficult person he's ever had to work with.

"What makes you think I take notes?" he could strangle you.

"You need to take notes if you're going to learn anything. Why aren't you taking notes?" you finally stop staring at the bottle and look up at him with a dead serious face.

"The teacher goes too fast, so I stopped trying."

"... you can't keep up."

"Yup."

"What class are you in again?"

"1." Shirabu bit his lip. You were dumber than he originally thought.

"I think your head is emptier than that bottle you've been staring at." He bit before turning away. He'd have to get you notes from someone else. You clicked your tongue as you watch him walk away.

'Damn, don't have to be mean about it....' you thought as you continue your practice.

You were sitting in your dorm. A large canvas was spread out over the floor along with several brushes and wax paper pallets with all sorts of colors mixed on them. You had a reference on your iPad in front of you. You wanted to gift your mother with a portrait of herself for her birthday, and you had been honing your skills for the past few days. Your arms and PJ pants were covered in paint. You were halfway through the project, and the portrait did look quite a bit like your mother. You had a much better relationship with your mother than you did your father. Your mother would encourage your artistic pursuits and constantly gift you with nice supplies to do so. Her most recent gifts were the canvas and paints.

A swift knock on your door could be heard before the door swings open to reveal a very pissed off tutor.

"You were supposed to be in the library 30 minutes ago," he growled

"Why bother knocking if you're just gonna come in anyways, genius?" you gave him a confused look and totally ignored his anger as you went back to painting. "Also I'm doing great, thanks for asking." God, he wanted to kill you...

"I need a raise..." he muttered, "Look, if you want, we can study in here, would that be better for you?"

"And I don't have to get dressed and go anywhere? Deal!" you excitedly put down your paintbrush and begin to clean. As you clean, Shirabu looks over what you've been painting then gasps. Your perfect brushstrokes blended the colors expertly with a nice soft chiaroscuro to create something almost lifelike. Your hand showed in the flowers you painted around the figure. He was awestruck. How could someone so stupid create something this beautiful? Once you entered the common area again, he pointed at the painting and asked a question you were all too familiar with

"Did you paint this?" the slight smile you had on your face faded as you gave him a tired look

"No, I was just sitting there and then all the sudden a paintbrush appeared in my hand and that thing rose from the floor, yes I painted it, who else would?" You said in a snarky tone as you carefully lifted the canvas and placed it on the counter to let it dry some. He decided to sit down on the floor and spread out all his study materials and try to pick up where you two had last left off. You duck into your room quickly and come back out with a pillow and blanket. He stares at you questionably, but he was starting to get so used to you doing stupid things that he brushed it off slightly. "What? I can't be comfortable?"

"No, you're just treating this study session like a sleepover." He says plainly as he places a textbook in front of you.

"What, do you want to start talking about our crushes then?" you tease as you lay down on your stomach and cover yourself with the blanket and rest your torso on the pillow. He scoffs.

"Don't have one." he takes out a pen and leans forward to mark several things for you to look at. He noticed that you were far more comfortable studying on the floor of your dorm than you were in a library and actually began to pay attention some.

"What, too good for one?" You tease again. He gave a slight smirk as he released a quick breath through his nose.

"No, I'm too busy keeping you from failing stupid class and being the captain of the volleyball team." you gave a sly smirk back as you looked down at the notes he had in front of you

"Glad to know I'm that much of a concern that you can't even have a social life, that or you didn't have much of one, to begin with."

"And you have a thriving one?" Ouch. you sneer and decided to look down at the material he was pointing at and actually make an attempt. You didn't know why, but you decided to go easy on him today.

The next day, he didn't even bother. It took 7 days for him to just give up, and you found it amusing. He entered your dorm without knocking wearing casual clothing and had his bag slung over his shoulder. He had coffee in one hand and a blanket in the other. You couldn't help but burst out laughing at him as you held a paintbrush in your hand.

"OH, MY GOD! YOU GAVE UP!" you began laughing again as you fell backward in your paint-stained pajamas. Tears were forming at the corner of your eyes. Your past tutors had tried to keep up with you and work around your sassiness but never had they given up this quickly. He looked so done with your shit and you loved every second of it.

"Just get cleaned up and let's get started." He said before taking a sip of his coffee. "I have some notes for you that another student in class 3 had. I made a copy for you so you actually have something to study." He tells you as you wash your hands in the kitchenette sink. "It still baffles me that you're that stupid to where you can't take notes." he jabs

"I mean... you've got a job because I am that stupid." You point out as you dry your hands. He glares at you before taking another sip of coffee and begins to set up in the middle of your common area floor.

It took you 7 days to break him to the point where he just showed up to your dorm wearing PJs and drinking coffee, but after that, he held his own pretty well. He would match each snarky comment with one of his own. He really was dedicated to making sure you didn't fail, and it was kind of cute.

Although you also knew he was dedicated because your dad paid well. It saddened you a bit, but you shook it off and continued to give him a hard time when you could. You loved that frustrated look he gave you when you were being your dumb as bricks self, and you especially loved it when it was paired with him taking a sip of coffee. He didn't know it, but you were slowly finding him to be cuter and cuter with each passing study session.

You were sketching alone in your dorm to pass the time. Today wasn't a study session because Shirabu had a game. You were slightly disappointed, but you knew days like this would happen.

"God, that damn nerd has me crushing on him..." You sigh as you tap your pencil against your sketchbook. You look at the clock on your nightstand and thought for a few minutes before making up your mind. You could use a little bit of dynamic sketching practice.

The stadium was a bustling mix of sweaty athletes and overly excited volleyball nerds. You had been drawing all sorts of matches, and you hated to admit it, but damn were these nerds good practice, especially Spikers. Jump serves were cool too.

Your favorite to draw was this little bowl cut kid on the Shiratorizawa team. He was always energetic and made some really fun poses. He seemed to like attention too, even if he didn't know you were drawing him. If you bumped into him at school you might let him have a drawing or two. He seemed like a good kid. He also seemed familiar, you think you saw him in your dorm a few times when you had your old roommate. It's hard to remember each person that would visit your old roommate because there were so many of them. A lot were volleyball players that had graduated with her.

As you sat in the lobby of the stadium cleaning up some quick sketches you made, you could feel eyes. Great, your favorite. Someone was sizing you up.

'If you're gonna approach me, at least be brave about it, man.' you thought as you continued to clean the sketches.

"Excuse me," you let a tired smile cast over your face as you look up. The boy who approached you. He was wearing a white tracksuit with teal accents. His hair was a light brown color and the shape of it reminded you of a pastry. His round brown eyes stared down at you with a look that you assumed he thought was flirtatious. This dude was hilarious.

"Yeah, sup?" you replied in a casual tone. You decided to let this boy shoot his shot.

"I just happened to notice you were alone over here," He sits down next to you as he continues to talk to you, "Thought you could use some company."

"Oh yeah?" you raise your eyebrows at him as you twirl your inking pen between your fingers. "Is there anything, in particular, you wanted to talk to me about then?" you blink softly at him. He seemed to gain confidence from it.

You had absolutely no interest in the boy. He seemed to be shallow to you, and somewhat of a showoff.

"Well, how about we start with names? My name's Yahaba Shigeru, yours is?"

"(L/Name) (Name). You attend Aoba Josai ey?" you read the name on his varsity jacket. You were in casual clothing, so he had no indication that you went to Shiratorizawa.

"Mhm, we're a pretty strong team you know. You should come watch us at some point." His gaze slowly drifted down to what you were cleaning. "... is that the Shiratorizawa ace?"

"Yup! Just got done watching one of their games. The ace is the most fun to draw." you give a cat-like smile to him as you saw his face attempt to keep a smile, but is eye twitched.

"A-ah... what about Setters? Are they fun to draw?" you look over at him

"Mm, not really." he flinched. "Are you a setter, cream puff?" you continue to give him a mischievous smile. He gives you an aggravated smile

"It's Yahaba, and yes, I am a Setter." you narrowed your eyes and let out a slight giggle. He blinks several times at your mischievous giggle. It was cute but made him concerned with what would come out of your mouth.

"Ah, it's a good thing you're cute then because otherwise, you'd be a complete waste of time to draw." he choked and blushed at the same time. He had fully turned to you as you decided to busy yourself once again.

"So! What school do you go to?" he asked as he tried to brush off your comment.

"Bothering girls again, Yahaba?" a familiar voice cuts in, but it was slightly aggressive.

"Shirabu," Yahaba growled. "I was actually having a nice conversation with this girl, right?" you lift your head and turn to face your tutor. He choked

"Hey, Shirabu. Sup?"

"YOU KNOW HIM (L/NAME)-CHAN?"

"(L/NAME), WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Yeesh! So many questions." you raise an eyebrow at Shirabu "And I texted you saying what I was doing."

"All you said was you were practicing dynamic-" He stopped and thought about it. Of course. Sports are perfect for you to get dynamic posing practice. He sighed

"Also, cream puff, I go to the same school as him. He's my tutor." Shirabu snorted at your comment. Yahaba was clearly not pleased.

"It's Yahaba, but you can call me Shigeru if you want, (Name)-chan." That pissed off Shirabu.

"Wow, bold of you to assume I would want to call you by your given name, and bold of you to call me by my given name." you lift your nose. "You really are full of yourself, huh?" you then lifted yourself from the seat and closed your sketchbook and pen. "Welp, I think I let you try enough. See you later plain guy." Shirabu began to laugh quietly as he hid his mouth. He didn't need to sass Yahaba at all this time, you did it all for him.

"P-Plain guy?! You said I was cute!" he protests

"Yeah, but that was before I saw your personality, really killed your appeal. See ya vanilla cream puff." he choked and Shirabu continued to laugh at him. His laugh was sweet and made your heart flutter slightly. As you walked away, you could hear them continue to bicker. 'They must be rivals.' you thought as you continued to walk away.

The next day you were sitting alone at lunch again. You really didn't mind, meant you could focus on drawing while you ate. You were simply doodling to reward yourself for doing so many observational life drawings recently. As you doodled, a tray was set down in front of you. You quickly look up to see who was sitting down with you.

It was Shirabu.

"Look, my notes don't look any better than the last time you checked them,"

"I'm not here to check your notes. I know you're about as smart as concrete," he replies and sits down across from you. You gave him a surprised look.

"So... why are you here?" he began to poke at his food

"I can't want to spend time with you other than studying?" he says plainly, but it made you blush slightly. He said it so casually that you almost didn't know how to react, luckily your snark was still functioning.

"Thought I was a pain." You replied as you take a bite of your lunch.

"You are a pain." he sighs "But... an amusing pain."

"I'm kink-shaming"

"Oh shut up." you laugh at his response. He liked the way you laughed. It was energetic and made him want to smile and just stare at you. He was able to control himself as he brought his gaze down to his lunch again and continued eating.

"So you have no one else to sit with?" you questioned, not that you minded his company, you actually started enjoying spending time with the captain of the volleyball team.

"Most of the people I sat with last year graduated. The people I usually sit with now are being noisy." he took a sip of his drink

"Ah, so you'd rather have a quiet, sassy conversation." you smile.

"That would be correct." He says with ease again. Your eyes widen slightly as you blush again. "You were drawing yesterday, right?" he asks suddenly.

"Yeah, what about it?" you stir your drink with your straw, the clacking of ice cubes were funneled by the cup.

"May I see your drawings?" he asked in a mild tone. You were taken aback. Most people didn't bother to pay attention to your interest in art, and your mother was the only one who encouraged it. Your peers would look over your shoulder and ask stupid questions like 'did you draw that?' or 'can you draw me?' No one actually wanted to look through your sketchbook with you. They were selfish and only wanted things from you.

"Sure, go ahead and look through it if you want. The pictures I drew yesterday start about here," you stick your finger in between the pages, but Shirabu stops you from opening it right there with a light touch of his hand.

"Am I not allowed to start from the beginning?" he asks, making your heart beat faster.

'What is he DOING to me? Does he want me to fall for him!?' you mentally scream.

"No, go ahead. It's not like I draw porn in there." you joke. He gives you a questioning look before opening the sketchbook to look at what you've drawn. He seemed completely enthralled in your work, staring at each sketch for a good 5-10 seconds before slowly turning to the next page. He would ask occasional questions about things,

"Do you fill up sketchbooks often?" He asks as he keeps his eyes on the graphite scratches on the pages.

"One about every two months or so. I try to draw daily." you rest your head in your hand as you continue to watch him. He seemed comfortable with your gaze as he continues turning pages. He finally gets to the drawings you made yesterday. He makes a strange face as he looks at who you were drawing all day

"... are these Goshiki?" you smirk. Was he hoping for pictures of himself?

"Yup! He made a lot of interesting poses. He was fun to draw too." you tell the brown haired boy. "Spikers are the most fun to draw. They move a lot on the court you know." he turns the page to the sketch you had been cleaning yesterday. The detail on it was breathtaking.

"I see..." he comments once more.

"That boy you were fighting with yesterday actually asked me if Setters were fun to draw. Is he a Setter?" Shirabu closed your sketchbook after gazing at the doodles you had just done.

"He is. I'm one too." you hum to show you were listening "He's the team captain for Aoba Josai, a rival team."

"Uh huh," you take a sip of your drink. "you seem bummed. Hoping for pictures of you in there?" you ask with a cat-like grin. He flinches. Was he really that obvious? "You're more suited for portraits and detailed drawings." You tell him.

"How come?" he asks with narrowed eyes. Your smile was suspicious.

"You're cute." you took another drink as if nothing happened. His eyes widen slightly as a small amount of blush graced his face. You laugh slightly at his reaction, making him even more infatuated. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"It's impressive you know." He began and caught your attention. "You make beautiful, fantastic drawings, they're by far the best I've seen from a high school student, and I could see you taking this as a career path," his praise caused you to blush, but you could feel something coming "But you're one of the dumbest people I've ever met."

Yup. There it was.

"Gee, thanks." you sneer at his backhanded compliment.

"No problem. Anytime." he smiles as he takes a sip.

Another month of his tutoring had passed, and you couldn't deny your feelings for him. You had gotten on your old roommate's case for that, so you weren't about to let yourself be a hypocrite. You had been saving up your allowance for your own supplies, but he was more important. You had talked to his manager who seemed very enthusiastic about you having a crush on the boy. You told her of your plan and began asking her questions.

"Mmn, nope, he hasn't gotten himself any new equipment or anything. I've been noticing that his kneepads especially need to be replaced soon." She tells you. Her gaze was almost suffocating as it observed and took in every move you made, she also took everything you said and put it together as if it was some sort of puzzle. Her smile was sweet, but it was scheming as well.

"I see," You tried to think of a way to get his shoe size without sounding creepy or weird. You didn't want to get him the wrong size.

"I can write down all that you need to know about his favorite equipment if you want," the manager smiles again.

"Eh?! You can?" you were surprised that she would know all that.

"Of course. I'm his team's manager, it's my job to know everything about them!" her airy voice was enthusiastic as she took out a notepad. You smiled at her before realizing something

"Wait... how did you know I wanted to buy him that stuff..." you stepped back slightly as she giggled.

"Let's call it intuition." she ripped the paper from her notebook and handed it to you. "Good luck! I think he'll appreciate it, especially from you~!" you look at the manager with confused eyes once again. She was being secretive and all-knowing, and nothing she said was making sense to you.

"Okay... thanks?" you then turn and run out of the gym, leaving her to stare at you with a large smile on her face. She recalled how Shirabu had been acting a bit weird recently and had to pout to get it out of him. Once he confessed what had been on his mind recently, she was able to help him.

"He'll very much appreciate it~" she smiles again as she returns to her duties.

You triple check the notes that his manager wrote you and kept the receipt just in case. Your heart was beating faster as 7 pm approached. You took a deep breath and steadied yourself. It was just a gift. People give gifts all the time. He would probably think nothing of it other than being appreciative.

6:54 pm came and so did Shirabu. As always, he had a blanket, coffee, and his bag.

"Sup, you're early," you say casually as you began washing your hands. He hums as a response.

"I know. I told you I don't mind spending time with you" you couldn't help but let a smile grace your face. Even with your slightly messy hair and paint covered arms, your smile made you look regal in his eyes. Like a princess.

He didn't know how he fell for you, but you sassing Yahaba probably helped. You were stubborn and strong-willed, you held a cool head as well and didn't let yourself get easily flustered or heated. You also had that amazing artistic talent of yours, he would call you a genius if he didn't know you were dumb as bricks. Your banter with him was refreshing as well. You were one hell of a pain, but if you could be his pain his life would be complete. His manager was already pushing him to confess to you, but he wasn't ready yet, and no amount of pouting from her would change his mind. Taichi, his vice-captain, also gave him shit. Shirabu knew it was a mistake to tell his manager what was on his mind, but that's what she was there for.

"So how's volleyball been?" You ask to break the silence between you two. He sighed and leaned against the counter in your kitchenette.

"Karasuno's been a pain recently, but so has Date Tech. Aoba Josai's power is a bit concerning due to their ace, but I think we've got them beat." You recall Seijoh's ace. He was a scary looking thing with strangely dyed hair. He was almost as scary as Karasuno's ace, who seemed to challenge everything and everyone.

"So are you worried about losing?"

"No. I think we've got it. They're not going to go down without a fight, however." You smile at his confidence.

"I see, well I can't wait to see how it goes then." His eyes widen as you shake your hands of water. He calmed himself slightly

"Right, It'll be good drawing practice for you."

"Mmmnope, I want to watch you play." You reply in a casual tone, but your heart was ready to explode. "By the way, I got you something." you look at the clock and see it's 6:59 pm. You quickly duck into your room as Shirabu waits anxiously outside.

'What does she have for me? She wants to watch me play, she said ME, not the team...' he began to overthink but tore himself away from his thoughts as you return from your dorm holding a box. You had a casual smile on your face as you handed him the box. He blinks several times before slowly opening it

"I had to ask your manager for specifics, but consider it a tip. My father's stopped yelling at me ever since you started helping... and I don't mind having you around" you admit. He looks in and sees a new pair of volleyball shoes along with a very nice set of knee pads. His eyes widen even further as he looks over the shoes and knee pads "I noticed that these were nicer looking than the ones you usually get, so I got them instead"

"They're also more expensive, you didn't have to spend that much money on me," he becomes flustered very quickly.

"I know, but I wanted to," you say in a serious tone. Once you saw him become flustered like that, you knew he had a crush on you too. It made you happy and more confident, but you wanted to see how long it would take him to admit it. You wanted him to confess first. You couldn't help it, you loved screwing with him. Just knowing he had feelings for you was enough for right now.

Once the study session began, you could tell he was a bit shakier, but he did his best. You sat next to him once instead of across him, and let your hand brush against his. He does well controlling his emotions, but his blush would escape him now and again. You would sass him still, and he took no time at all to respond to any sass you gave him. You smiled at him.

He had no idea how happy he made you.

And you wished you could always be there for him, but your father had other plans.

You had promised you'd be there, but now you'd have to call him and tell him you can't make it. You were going to send a text, but you wanted to hear his voice. You were slightly stressed as the nice silky dress you were in restrained your movements. The heels you wore were short but still awkward. The dress rolled off your shoulders and exposed your collar bone and hugged your hips. Your hair was perfectly and professionally arranged, and pearl earrings hung from your earlobes. Your father sprung on you a meeting with his colleagues, and it happened to be the same day as the prefectural finals. You didn't want to be here. You wanted to be watching him. After you called him and explained your situation, he told you not to worry about it, and that he'd bring you with him to nationals. You could hear him being heckled in the background by what sounded like his manager and vice-captain, but he ignored it as he spoke to you.

"I'll see you later. Good luck,"

"See you, have fun at that dinner." his voice was calm, and it helped soothe you as well. After hanging up, you sigh and play with the glittery bracelet on your wrist. You had a matching choker on as well. Once satisfied with how much you fidgeted, you made your way inside the restaurant.

"(Name), sit down." your father beckoned to you. You obeyed without much struggle. You sat perfectly straight in your seat. The tight dress helped support you, but years of scolding from your father trained you to always sit with a straight back around him. Your mother gave you a sympathetic look. She knew where you wanted to be right now, and it was not here.

"You have a beautiful daughter (L/Name)-san, she's taking over the firm, correct?" your father nodded with dignity.

_**'I don't want it.'** _

"She's attending Shiratorizawa right now, and will attend Tokyo University after she's graduated."

_**'I don't want it!'** _

"She'll be perfect for it then! Following in her father's footsteps!" your mother grimaces. She pats your leg, but you remain stiff and look down.

_**'I DON'T WANT IT.'** _

"(Name)-chan, it must be exciting being able to take such a great thing from your father! Your grandfather started the firm, so it'll have been past down 3 generations once you inherit it!"

 _ **"I DON'T WANT IT!"**_ You scream as you slam your hands down on the table and shoot up out of your chair. Your father is horrified as he watches your outburst. Your mother looks on with a hopeful look. She wanted you to speak your mind. "I don't want the firm! I never did! I've never wanted this! I never wanted to follow your footsteps! I never wanted to keep this family tradition!" you began breathing heavily as your father silently watches on, to your surprise, he doesn't seem angry. He seems concerned. "You've never asked me what I want. You've never supported anything I've done besides taking steps towards law school. I didn't want that. I don't know if I can HANDLE that. You've never sat down and actually talked with me about things I liked, or things I wanted to do, you just shoved me into a direction you thought was right!" you could feel tears in your eyes, but you dare not let them fall. You couldn't be weak right now. "I refuse to stand on the back of giants. I want to go my own way." you take a large breath before grabbing your purse and walking out.

"(Name), where are you going?" Your father calls to you. You turn and stick your nose up at him

"Back to the school. If you want to talk to me about my future, you can do it over the phone!" you back talk to your father for once in your life. Your father looked on with a surprised look and blinked several times.

Your mother gave him a snide smile before chuckling to herself.

"Thata girl," she gives your father a slight pat on the back before taking a sip of wine.

"Stupid heels," you curse as you continue to walk back to the academy. You've been catcalled several times now, but you could scare away anyone quickly with your glare and sharp tongue. You made it very clear that you weren't to be messed with. "Screw it, I'm taking them off."

It wasn't much of a walk after that. Your feet were now a bit dirty, but at least you walked a bit faster. You put your heels back on once you got to the dorms. You sigh as you rummage through your purse to look for your key. Your heart stops as you stared blankly into the bag and groan.

You forgot your key in the dorm. You bit your red stained lips and sighed. You must have forgotten it when you were in a flustered and upset state when your father sprung the dinner party on you. You then went to a nearby bench and sat down and groan loudly.

You decided to try and text your roommate, but she was visiting home and wouldn't be able to let you in.

"Why me?" you tilt your head back as you let out a loud displeased sigh.

"(L/Name)?" a familiar voice called to you. You look up and see a very tired looking Shirabu. "What are you doing out here dressed like THAT?" he asked as his blush seeped through. You gave him a tired smile. He knew he was about to be sassed.

"I'm a magical princess in disguise, this is my true form. What do you think?! I just came home from that stupid dinner my father sprung on me." He grimaced at you. Clearly, you were not in a good mood.

"I'm guessing things didn't go well." he approached you and sat next to you on the bench. You shook your head.

"No. I ended up exploding on him. I screamed at him in the middle of that restaurant about how I felt... do you have your key?" You ask quickly.

"... did you forget yours?" he gave you a deadpan expression. You only gave a stupid grin as a response. He sighed and got up. How did he love you?

As you made your way to your dorm, you were relieved to find it unlocked. You enter with Shirabu following you. The entire time he followed you, his eyes scanned you up and down. Your exposed shoulders were almost too much for him, and your hips were perfectly accentuated by the dress. Your hair was up, so your neck was exposed as well. Everything about you was beautiful and elegant. If only your personality matched. He slightly laughed at that thought. He wouldn't nearly be as attracted to you if you were prim and proper.

"I'm surprised nothing got stolen," Shirabu states as you fall over ungracefully onto the bean bag chair your roommate had. You kick off the heels as well. "So what happened?" Shirabu sat in a chair across from the bean bag.

"Like I said, I finally snapped at him. I was honestly expecting to get smacked, but my father only gaped at me." You turn in the bean bag chair to fully face Shirabu. "I let him know how I didn't want the firm. I went off on him for never asking me what I wanted to do." Shirabu listened intently to you. "After that, I stormed out of the restaurant and walked all the way here." he widened his eyes at you out of shock.

"And you didn't run into trouble?" you close your eyes as you recalled what happened on the trip back

"Got catcalled a few times, but I can handle myself," you told him, not noticing he had gotten out of the chair and was approaching you. He hummed out of acknowledgment of your statement. You open your eyes and nearly gasp at how close he's gotten. You blush slightly, but try to keep your cool. "Shirabu?" he reached out a hand for you to grab, and you obliged. With a swift movement, he had lifted you out of the bean bag chair and had you against him with an arm around your waist and one creeping up your back. He placed his head in the crook of your neck as he embraced you. You let out a heavy breath. "Kenjiro?"

"I need to tell you something," he says before leaning back slightly to look at your face. Your eyes began to fill with anticipation. Was he finally going to confess? He smiles. He brings a hand to your face as he leans in. his breath brushed against your lips as you close your eyes, waiting for him to connect the kiss, but it never came. He wiped an eyelash off your face before retreating from the embrace "There was an eyelash on your face." he gives you a mischievous smile before sitting back down on the chair he was originally in. you were awestruck. He just teased you! You began slowly shaking your head as you march over to him

"No, you are not doing this to me!" you say as you grab his face and pull him into a kiss. He was quick to melt into it and lets himself be enveloped by your perfume. The taste on your lips was indescribable, but it was heaven. He grabs hold of your waist once more and pulls you closer to him as you crawl into his lap. As you pull away from the first kiss, he quickly went in for another one. He wasn't done. He ran one hand up from your waist to your back and slowly began caressing your open shoulders. You shiver slightly at his touch.

'How did he get this good?!' you question yourself, but his touch seemed aimless, so maybe it was out of instinct or impulse.

He would never admit to you that his manager had shoved all kinds of Shojos his way for him to "Research" to make his first experience with you better.

_"My first kiss was so awkward! I can't let yours be too!"_

He internally grimaced at the memory.

Once you two finally pulled apart, he had red marks from your lipstick all over his face. You laugh slightly, but he quickly silenced you by kissing your collarbone, sending a shiver up your spine.

"I love you," You admit to him. He smiles

"I know, I love you too." he ran his hand up and down the side of your tight-fitting dress. "I knew you were trying to tease me. My manager ratted you out."

"EH?!" Your eyes widen as you thought back to the scheming little rabbit. You sigh as you rest your head on his shoulder. He took another opportunity to kiss the crook of your neck, causing you to jump slightly. "I guess I can't outsmart you, huh?"

"Not a chance, flunkee." You huffed and brought yourself off his shoulder

"Hey! If I'm flunking, that means you aren't doing your job right!" he smirks again and brings you down for another kiss.

"Or you're too stupid." he breathes on your lips. You give him another kiss before speaking yourself.

"Rude."

"Have you looked in a mirror?" he sasses you. You can only smile as he continues to touch you affectionately.

"Speaking of mirrors, you're covered in lipstick, I hope you know that." He pauses and wipes his lower lip with his thumb before examining it. The waxy red lipstick had quickly stained his finger. He sighed before looking at you. "I have makeup wipes, hang on." you remove yourself from his lap. You gave him a big kiss on his cheek before heading off to your bathroom. He was quick to follow you and wrap his arms around your waist again as you grabbed the scented wipes. "Kenjiro!" you yelped as you almost dropped the purple package. "I was going to change too you know!" he kissed your shoulder again

"Take off whatever you need." You quickly redden at his statement and let out a heavy breath. What was he saying!?

With swift hands he opens the package of makeup remover wipes in your hands and takes out a couple before releasing you and heading out of your dorm

"I'm gonna go change too. Take as long as you need." he then shuts your room door as he wipes his face and heads out. He had teased you yet again.

"You ass! Why the hell are you doing that?!" you yell from your room with a completely red face.

"Payback for when we first met!" he calls back "Love you!" you heard the door shut and you groan. You loved every inch of that man and couldn't wait to see him again.


	4. Tomboy (Goshiki Tsutomu x Reader)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reader is an old junior and teammate of Golden girl and the Little rabbit

You were the wild-child. You were the girl that played in the mud as a kid, you were the girl that listened to loud music. You were the girl that was one of the boys. You were the girl that every other girl came to about their crush because, more likely than not, you were buds with the aforementioned crush. You were the girl that wore spandex shorts underneath her skirt because it was uncomfortable otherwise. You were the girl that had played every sport under the sun at least once, and more likely than not you played with the boys. You were the tomboy. You were unladylike. You were the girl that would never have a crush, that was absurd.

And then he came around.

He came crashing in like the baseball you sent through your mom's window when you were 10. He was bursting with life, and he was a show-off as well. He worked hard in the advanced classes and he was loud. He talked for hours about volleyball and how he was going to be the future ace. It felt like you were stabbed several times by Eros's arrow. Everything about him was cool even if he was kind of a dork at times. The way he was confident, the way he was a first-year on the starting lineup and first string, the way others were confident he was going to be the ace, the way he spiked, all of it cool.

"Hey, (L/Name)-kun, everything okay?" one of your friends asked you, his face was twisted with confusion. Another one of your friends approached as well. You grab the other boy's shoulders and gave out an agonized, confused groan.

"Woah! (L/Name)-kun!? What's up!? The last time you groaned like that was when you had to take summer classes!" He raised his hands to try and calm you, but you gave both of the boys a frustrated stare. Some of your classmates began to stare at you and how weird you were being. It wasn't uncommon, but it wasn't an everyday occurrence either.

"HOW DO YOU MAKE A CRUSH GO AWAY!? I DON'T WANT IT! GET IT OFF!" You yell at him as you shake his shoulders. Your other friend tries to stop your wild behavior by grabbing your arm and slowing you down.

"(L/Name)-kun!? What the hell!? What do you mean 'get rid of a crush?!' do you have a crush!?" your dizzy friend slumped back on a desk after being shaken by your strong, sporty, self.

"I think I do?! I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" You grip your other friend's arm as the fear of god shot through him like a bullet. You had a massive amount of strength that half the first-year boys were envious of.

"(L/Name)-kun! Calm down!" Your friend tried to soothe you, but you simply released him and slumped back into your desk and groaned and wailed loudly. Your other friend was slowly recovering from his impromptu spin cycle.

"(L/Name)-kun, crushes are normal! You'd get one eventually," Your friend informs you as you feel your spirit leave your body. "I have one, Matsuda-kun has one, It's. COMMON!" He gestured his hands towards you as you continue to stare at the ceiling.

"Hey bro! Don't out me like that!" Matsuda gawks at your friend, and your friend only shrugs to reply.

"But I don't want it! I was supposed to be a free spirit that traveled the world out searching for adventure! Maybe leaving heartbreak in my wake, I wasn't supposed to get feelings for a boy!"

"Ta-da!" Your friend shimmies his hands "You have feelings! You're not a psychopath!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" You yell again, causing the entire class to jump. They all turn and glare at you, but you were frozen by who you saw in the door staring at your outburst.

There he was, Goshiki Tsutomu. Your unwanted crush. You were stiff as you stared at him.

"Everything okay?" he asked from the doorway. His mouth was pressed into a tight line as his eyes held concern for you. Your friends whip around and look at him. A girl in your class gave a nervous laugh and waved her hand at him

"Yeah, (L/name)-kun just gets like that, she's fine." You almost died. He probably thought you were some sort of weirdo now.

"Oh, okay, hope you feel better soon!" He smiled with a bit of relief on his face and waved at you before leaving towards his class. The girl that waved him off then quickly got out of her desk and ran over to yours. Once at your desk, she smacked her hands down.

"That was him wasn't it? Your crush? You would have kept screaming if it was anyone else!" Your friends jump at the excited girl in front of you.

"W-why do you want to know huh!?" You try and make an intimidating face, but she scoffed at your attempt.

"I don't know if you remember or not, but you totally helped me when I was crazy about that one boy, so now I'm gonna return the favor!" She smiled as she slammed her hands down again.

"E-EH?!" You tilt your head as another girl looked at her friend and nodded.

"We'll help too, (L/Name)-kun!" the girls offered. Matsuda-kun and your other friend smiled at each other.

"We'll do everything we can (L/Name)-kun!" they cheer.

"Great!" the first girl pumped her fist "We'll all meet after class and clubs are done! Everyone meet up in my dorm, okay?" She rushed back to her seat as the teacher walked in, leaving you in a slight daze.

"OKAY! Time for the first official meeting of the "GET (L/NAME)-KUN A DATE" CLUB!" the first girl who approached you, who you later learned was named Hara-chan, yelled out as she shot a fist up into the air. each of the first years who had agreed to help you earlier that day pumped their fists as well. You sat there in silence as these first years who were also in the idiot class got excited.

You were rather dirty after your volleyball practice. Your team liked to practice in the sand a lot, so you were always dusty and dirty from practicing on a sand court a few miles down the road. You had also spotted a rare bug that you had to chase for a little bit before finally returning to the dorms where Hara waited for you. She had scolded you for being slightly late, but she soon forgot about it after she got herself excited again at the thought of helping you get a date.

"Okay, so how do I do that?" You question as you sway slightly on the floor. You sat cross-legged, and you slouched as well. Your fingers were tapping softly against the linoleum made to look like wood grain.

"Why do you think boys don't ask you out (L/Name)-kun?" another girl, Ito-chan, asked. Your friends, Matsuda and Yamazaki both tilted their heads and what Ito-chan meant by that. Her friend, Fujita-chan, soon cleared her throat.

"Let me ask another question. Matsuda, Yamazaki, why have you guys never asked her out?" The two boys tilted their heads further.

"Uh, because she's a bro? We've never really thought of (L/Name)-kun in that way." Fujita nodded as she looked over at her friend. Ito nodded as well. Hara got the picture.

"So (L/Name)-kun is in the brozone." Ito and Fujita nod at Hara. "And no one's really putting her there, I think she's putting herself there!" the dumb hypothesis shot through the room like it was Einstein's theory being proposed for the first time.

"Oh my god (L/Name)-kun! You're in the brozone!" Yamazaki panics. Matsuda then shoots up out of his chair

"No, not yet! Goshiki hasn't really met (L/Name)-kun yet! He might not have dubbed her 'Bro' yet! We still have time!" He proudly proclaims, but then slowly realizes he has no idea what to do.

"Well, I think first thing's first, we clean (L/Name)-kun up. She's filthy..." Ito looks her over.

"I was at practice! The volleyball team's been practicing on the sand a lot so that our jumps are higher and our footwork is better!" You declare. You were clearly proud of all your hard work.

"Yeah, but how will you catch his attention if you're absolutely covered in sand and dirt! You just look kinda homeless!" Hara then begins shoving you across the floor while you grimace at the strange ride she was giving you. She apparently was being too slow for Ito and Fujita, as they began pushing too as you look back at your friends for help.

"Take a bath (L/Name)-kun! You can borrow some of my clothes! Use my body wash and shampoo too!" Hara says as she slams the door on your back.

"Here! I'll pick out some clothes!" Ito quickly ran to Hara's closet as she looked through it.

"I'll help too!" Fujita searches with her friend. Matsuda and Yamazaki stood awkwardly as they tried to think about what they should do. Hara was quick to instruct them.

"You two! Begin thinking of a plan to befriend Goshiki-kun! That way you guys can do what (L/Name)-kun does all the time!"

"R-Right!" They both call out to her as they begin texting furiously, seeing whatever link they had to Goshiki.

After you got a shower, you were immediately stuffed into a light-colored nightgown. When you begged for something to wear underneath the skirt of the nightgown, you were given thigh high socks. It was testing your patience.

"Wow (L/Name)-kun! You look really good with a skirt and thigh highs! Your thighs really work with that combo!" Fujita comments as Matsuda and Yamazaki stare. You were very uncomfortable.

"Why are you dressing me like this? What's the point!"

"Them staring is the point!" Hara smacked the back of Yamazaki and Matsuda's heads, knocking them out of their daze. "Has Goshiki-kun ever given you more than a glance?" Hara smacks her hands against her dorm's counter. "Or was that the first time he's talked to you today?" you bit your bottom lip as you widen your eyes. You began to think back to all he's ever said to you.

_"Oh! Do you happen to have a pencil I can borrow really quickly?"_

_"Hey is anyone sitting in this chair? Can I steal it? Our table over there ran out."_

_"Hey! You dropped this!"_

_"Oh! Sorry! Excuse me."_

_"There's an eyelash on your face."_

You begin to choke as you feel yourself slowly die inside. Hara was right. He's never said a word besides what other people would say in passing. Anything that was directed at you was small and didn't have any sort of meaning behind.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" You scream again as you let yourself fall to the floor. Everyone in the room jumps as go to check on you. You were laying face down and groaning into the floor about how you "don't want it" and to "get it off"

"This is just how crushes are (L/Name)-kun! You gotta buck up and deal with it like everyone else!" Fujita attempts to soothe but clearly doesn't know what she's doing. Ito pouts at her and shoves her as she tried to soothe you

"It's okay, at least he's spoken to you! So that means he doesn't hate you!" Yamazaki nods furiously

"Yeah! You've got this (L/Name)-kun!" You continue to groan.

"I think the first step is to grab his attention. Wake up early and come to my dorm tomorrow!" Hara declares as she gives a devious smile. You had a bad feeling about this.

The next day, you woke up early and arrive at Hara's dorm, as she instructed. With a tired face and disheveled uniform, you knock on the door. You were still waking up slightly as the door swung open way too fast for your liking or for your brain to process this early.

"Perfect! Come here (L/Name)-kun! Er, I mean... (Name)-chan~" She grabbed your floppy arms and dragged you into her room. Fujita and Ito were also in the room holding socks and hairbrushes and clips along with makeup and body sprays. You look both quizzically and fearfully at the items before you. It was too damn early for this.

"Okay! Let's begin! You looked really good in thigh highs (Name)-chan! Let's give you those again!" They then tore off the spandex that you had underneath your skirt and chucked them in a bag to the side.

"ACK! My spandex!" you reached out to them as you felt very uncomfortable with just underwear and a skirt, but Ito threw them to the side.

"Here! Wear a little mascara too!"

"Spray on a bit of this~!"

"Eugh, your nails are dirty!"

"Your hair's a mess too!"

You stood there awkwardly and highly uncomfortable. Your hair was perfectly brushed with a cute hair clip and your eyelashes had mascara on them and were curled. Your fingernails were filed and even while your skin held the sweet aroma of roses. You held your legs together as they were covered by thigh-high black socks. Your spandex had been stuffed into your bag. A tinted gloss covered your lips. Your shirt was also neatly tucked and your tie straightened up.

"Woah, (Name)-chan, you're really cute when you try!" you shot a glare at Hara.

"W-why do I have to be dressed like this?!" You stammer as you pressed the skirt firmly against your behind with your hands to prevent any kind of exposure.

"We went over this yesterday (Name)-chan! Goshiki-kun's never really noticed you or tried to actually talk to you, but he might if you're like this! Look at you!" Fujita gestures at your appearance. "Look how cute you are (Name)-chan!"

"Why are you calling me that?" You question her as you slowly get more adjusted to not having your spandex

"It's cuter! Plus (L/Name)-kun makes you sound more masculine!" Hara flips her hair back as she looks you over again, making sure everything was perfect. "Okay! I think you're ready!"

"Kya~ so cute (Name)-chan!" Ito remarks

"Yeah! I'm kind of jealous that it's this easy for you..." Fujita remarks as she pouted slightly. You huff as you look down at your feet. Would this really work?

As you enter the school building, you could feel multiple eyes vying for your attention, but not the kind of attention you were used to. Most days you would be giving advice on how someone can fix their pitching form or how someone can improve their shots in basketball. Today was very different. One boy had followed you to an empty classroom that you were grabbing a book from during lunch.

"H-Hey! How are you?" the boy asked as soon as he closed the door behind him. With a few scuttled steps, you could tell that he was close. You gave a slight glance behind you as you rummage for the book. "I um... you look nice... I was wondering if you..." You look him dead in the eye and he realized who he was talking to "(L-L/Name)-kun!? What are you doing dressed like that?! Not that it's bad or anything! It's just not like you! N-not that it doesn't suit you! I mean! You were fine before too! B-but you're cute now!" he quickly placed a hand to his forehead. The boy felt stupid for not recognizing that it was you, one of his old baseball buddies.

"Dummy, I'm trying to get someone's attention! Haru, Ito, and Fujita all think this is going to work, Kikuchi-kun" Kikuchi scratched the back of his head as he looked at you and blushed.

"Well it certainly caught my attention!" you felt a confident smile spread across your pink-tinted lips.

"Oh! Sorry! Did I walk in on a confession?" you both look up and see a very familiar bowl cut peeking his head into the room. You barely noticed the pain in his voice. "Sorry! I hope everything works out between you two!" the volleyball player gives a wave before quickly exiting, much like your soul leaving your body. You wanted to scream. That was him. THAT WAS GOSHIKI. Kikuchi noticed your expression and did a double-take at the door.

"... that was him, wasn't it?" you could only let out a small vocalization as an affirmation "...I might have just ruined some of your chances, didn't I?" you quickly grabbed the boy's shoulders and gave him a glare before screaming at him

"WHAT DO YOU THIIIIIINK!?" you could cry at that moment, but instead you chose to lean against a wall and groan a bit. Hara would be mad at you if you ruined the makeup you wore.

"H-Hey! Wait! I can fix this! I can just go tell him it's a misunderstanding! Right? That'll work?" You weren't even listening to him at this point. You just quietly leaned against the wall as you came to terms with how ridiculous this plan was. Kikuchi kept rambling as you narrowed your eyes at the window across from you. If Goshiki didn't notice you when you were you, then how was he supposed to fall in love with the real you?

"This was a stupid idea to begin with..." You mutter as you felt your legs twitch. Kikuchi noticed your slowly deteriorating expression.

"(L/name)?" The boy asks once again before you lift yourself from the wall and sprint out of the room. "W-Wait! Like I said! I can fix this!" He quickly runs after you out into the hall, but you were much faster than he was. You ended up running past a very confused coconut head as he was chatting with some friends.

"Whoa! Hey! Be careful! You might fall over!" he called out to you, but you ignore every word as you hurdled over a student who was crouched to pick something up. The student gawked at your athleticism. Goshiki flinched as he became impressed with you. Maybe you didn't need to be told to not fall over...

"WAIT! (L/NAME)!" Kikuchi comes running after you, but Goshiki recognized him.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Didn't you just confess to her or something?" Goshiki questions as he keeps hold of the boy's arm. The boy looks up at Goshiki with wide eyes. How was he going to explain this without pissing you off more?

"Did he? Man, she must have rejected you, sorry dude!" one of his friends patted the panicked boy's back. Goshiki's friend looked up at the aforementioned boy and studied his expression.

"What did you like about her?" another friend asks as Goshiki slowly lets go of Kikuchi's arm. The friend was also checking his tall friend. "Was it because she's cute?" a light bulb suddenly went off in Kikuchi's head. He noticed that Goshiki was listening to him, so he took his chance.

"Well, (L/Name)-kun's super sporty. Played just about every single one, but she loves volleyball the most." Kikuchi glanced over at Goshiki, who became enthralled after hearing that word. "She's loud at times, and she can be kinda dumb in her own cute little way." He couldn't believe he was saying all this about (Name), she was one of his bros, but talking about her like this almost made him actually fall in love with her. "She's loyal and reliable too. She's the wingman for a lot of girls, some guys too." He decided to drop the big one "She normally doesn't look like that. She was trying to catch someone's attention today, but that guy clearly wasn't me!" Kikuchi scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "She's probably gonna go change into her normal spandex now. She usually doesn't wear thigh highs like that. Although it's super cute on her, don't you think?" He looks over at Goshiki with a smile. 'This is for you (L/Name)-kun!' He would normally never talk about her like that, but right now he had to make up for the giant mess he and several other people had gotten her into. Goshiki blushed at his question.

"Ah- Um, I-I don't know her that well, so I don't know if that's appropriate!" the up and coming ace pushes his index fingers together. One of his friends snorts.

"And yet you manage to worm your way into the smallest things she does, just to talk to her for a few seconds." his friend laughs.

"Yeah, you barely know anything about her, and you're infatuated like a school kid!" Kikuchi then looks at Goshiki with a deadpan stare. Does Goshiki have a crush on (L/Name)?

"Ah! That's your crush isn't it though? Sorry, we're talking about her like thi... why are you making that face?" Kikuchi's face had warped into one of blissful nirvana. His soul had ascended to heaven as he heard Goshiki's friends talk and tease the volleyball player for his immature crush.

"No, it's okay, don't worry about it~. I don't have a crush on her anymore~. You should go talk to her~. I have a feeling you'd hit it off well~" Kikuchi then began skipping and humming down the hall as he made his way to the cafeteria. He left a bewildered Goshiki and friends as they watched the once flustered boy twirl with joy down the hall.

"This was stupid, every single idea, stupid." You slam a volleyball against a wall with a sharp smack. You were keeping tears back as you continue to let out your frustration on the ball "I should have known. I should have known I'd always be the friend. That's the grave I've dug."

You were no longer in the thigh-high socks you were forced into and resumed wearing your spandex. Your skirt, school shirt, and the socks were all stuffed ungracefully into your bag. The clips that had once held your hair were torn off in a fury of frustration. The makeup that had graced your face was now in the bathroom trash on a makeup wipe that you had borrowed from another girl who was also in the bathroom at the time. You now wore an athletic shirt that hugged your body in a much looser fashion than those socks did. Your hair was now slightly messier than it was before because of your exercise. You crinkle your nose and close your eyes tight as you can before slamming down on the ball with all your might, sending it flying off the wall. You then fell to the floor to sit down cross-legged and slouch over. You were so caught up in your own distress that you didn't notice the gym doors open, the sound of a single pair of athletic shoes, or the missing sound of a volleyball dropping on hardwood.

You did notice someone taking a deep breath as if to calm themselves. You were slightly agitated. Was it someone who thought you were still wearing makeup?

"Look, I'm not wearing any of that girly stuff ever again, so you probably won't like me..."

"How do you know?" a familiar voice called to you. Your eyes shoot open as your body stiffens. You slowly turn your head to see a smiling future ace walking towards you with the volleyball you just sent flying under his arm.

He could feel his cheeks redden when he saw you hit that spike. It was clean, and it had power. He had to calm himself slightly just to approach you.

"G-Goshiki!?" You scream as you suddenly brace yourself against the wall.

"Whoa! Hang on! I just want to talk with you!" he tried to calm you down, but his own face soon began to show signs of embarrassment and panic. He really wanted to talk to you. He had for a while. He just didn't know how to... girl. Ever since he heard you talking loudly and unladylike in the cafeteria, he had a little schoolyard crush on you. It was something about the way your hands moved and how your nose scrunched into your eyes when you laughed. Your messy hair didn't bother him, but he loved it when you would comb it with your fingers. For it being messy, it seemed soft.

Still. He didn't know how to girl, well he didn't know how to talk to a girl he had a small crush on. He could talk to girls. He would peek into your class every once in a while to see how you were doing. Most of the time you were laughing or yelling. he would do his best to show off whenever you would pass by the gym during his practices, much to the chagrin of his teammates. His seniors told him to keep his cool, so he did his best. He would ask you little things, but never actually turned those little things into a conversation.

_"Oh! Do you happen to have a pencil I can borrow really quickly?" **'Ahh! Something that belongs to her!'**_

_"Hey is anyone sitting in this chair? Can I steal it? Our table over there ran out." **'She looks lonely today, I hope she's okay...'**_

_"Hey! You dropped this!" **'I've been following her for a little too long, I should go to class...'**_

_"Oh! Sorry! Excuse me." **'SHE TOUCHED ME~!'**_

_"There's an eyelash on your face." **'I hope she doesn't question why I was staring at her face...'**_

He took another deep breath as you sat frozen against the wall. He couldn't help but become more infatuated with the tomboy in front of him after all that your supposed admirer said about you.

"So... how long have you been playing volleyball?" He awkwardly begins as he kicks the ground a little. You narrow your eyes slightly as you gain a little more confidence and stand up.

"Since elementary. I-" you were interrupted by his excited musings. He couldn't help himself

"R-Really!? Me too! It's a great sport! I-" He realized he let himself have an outburst and his face became flushed. You let an excited smile cut into your cheeks as he talked to you.

"You don't have to stop! I agree! I love it! I hope to become an ace for my team one day!" you fill with even more confidence as you gush about the sport you love. "The ace is super cool after all!" His face lit up after you said that. He couldn't help but lift his head higher and let himself brag

"Well, I am the next ace without a doubt you know! I think it's pretty cool too!" he began spinning the volleyball that you were once assaulting between his fingers. He looked down to see your adorable face with a wondrous glitter inhabiting your eye along with a stupid grin spread across your lips. He couldn't hold in his dork self any longer. "Ah! Do... you want to practice passing a bit?" he asked almost in a shy tone as he held up the ball he had been spinning. You nodded your head vigorously, causing any nervousness of his to dissipate.

"... So... why did you want to talk to me all the sudden?" you spy the ball as it came towards you in a skillfully placed arc. With swift hand-eye coordination, you send it back. You were more confident as you began to play the sport you loved. You were always more confident when playing sports, maybe a little too much sometimes. Goshiki quickly lifted his head as he did the same.

"Uh... well..." He stopped to focus on the ball you had just bumped up into the air "I might have had a small crush on you, but after what that boy who had a crush on you too said, I think it's a bit bigger than small now." you sent the ball back as you began to process what he just said. "My friends and seniors told me to play it cool because I have a tendency to be overwhelmi-" after tossing the ball to you, you spike it down at him. He quickly ducked at your near-deadly projectile.

"ARE YOU TELLING ME I COULD HAVE BEEN TALKING TO YOU ALL THIS TIME?!" you scream at him at the top of your lungs. He flinched and retracted slightly as he put his hands in a half defensive position.

"E-eh?"

"I've been stressing out about my crush on you for WEEKS and you're telling me now that I didn't HAVE TO!?" You began waving your hands wildly. Goshiki blushed when he heard the word 'crush' "I didn't have to get in that uncomfortable get up to get your attention when I already HAD IT!? I KNOW you're a volleyball dork! I KNOW you're loud! I KNOW you're overwhelming! But I still think all of that is cool! I think you're cool! I like you for that!"

"Y-You really think I'm cool!?" A glitter lit his eyes as his lips cut into his cheeks. He let his dorky expression free around you.

"The only uncool thing I think you've done is not talk to me when you had a crush on me!" you began to laugh that that laugh he loved so much. The one that originally caught his attention. The laugh that was far from elegant and came from your nose. He made quick steps over to you as he caught you in his arms and lifted you up. You grip his shoulders as he supports you with one arm under your knees and the other on your waist. He looked up at you with that dorky shimmer still in his eyes. After seeing him split his face like that, you could feel that you were rarely ever going to get flustered around him again. Your cheeks flush slightly as you peer at him through your happy eyes.

After that day, you became the power couple. The couple that would loudly greet each other in the hall and excitedly talks about the smallest things. Your loud talking annoyed his setter greatly, but you didn't care. He would kiss your cheek and hold your hand whenever he could. He was excited about you like you were excited about him. Whenever he did something impressive, he would look to you. You would have that wide smile that he loved and that stupid glitter in your eye.

He loved to watch you too. You would perfectly pull off a feint or hit around a tight block, causing him to scream from wherever he was watching. It was hard to believe he managed to keep his cool around you when you both were starting out.

you gripped him tighter as his fingers ran through your hair. He still felt like an idiot that it took him so long to approach you. You made him incredibly happy, even if you both got yelled at from time to time by his setter. He grew to love everything about you, every rough edge and every curve. You were the tomboy, but you were his.


	5. Daydreamer (Yamagata Hayato X Reader)

There he was. He was so cool. Liberos were always cool, but he took the cake. This had to be it. You were going to confess your undying love to Yamagata Hayato. You took a deep breath as you looked at your handwriting on the birthday card in your hands and the even longer note it contained. Your head was filled with fantasies as you walked over to the volleyball player. He hadn't noticed you and was busy patting the pockets of his school uniform with a confused look on his face.

"Yamagata-kun!" you called out to him. He whipped his head up to look at you. His intense eyes made your heart flutter as he gave you his partial attention.

"Oh? Um, Hi (L/Name)-chan, can I help you?" He questioned and you sighed dreamily.

"I wanted to say happy birthda-" Before you could even finish your sentence, you were cut off by a blur of red hair and a flash.

"Birthday boy! Let's take a selfie!" *Click!* the closing shutter of a camera sounded off the moment the image was captured. Tendou, a teammate of Yamagata had wiggled his way in between you two and snagged a picture. Yamagata immediately became distracted as Tendou began to run off.

"Hey, wait, DUDE! IS THAT MY PHONE!?" Yamagata soon ran off, away from your confession and daydream.

**First attempt: Failure**

"Okay, so this morning wasn't perfect, but this will be!" You pumped your fist as you watched Yamagata walk towards the mess hall. He was alone and there was no way was slipping through your fingers this time! You began the dangerous pastime of daydreaming again as he began to walk further and further away. With each imaginary kiss his made up doppelganger gave you, the more thoughts of food filled his mind. Eventually, you realized that you were completely alone on that path to the mess hall and that you had spent your entire lunch mesmerized with a hungry libero.

**Second attempt: Failure**

"Right right right, don't go getting into your own head (Name), concentrate!" You pumped yourself up as you peered into the Shiratorizawa boys' volleyball practice. Currently, your object of affections was on the receiving end of some pretty nasty serves. Each serve was rocketed across the court at speeds which made you feel like a twig. Their booming starts made you wonder if the volleyball team had cannons instead of players. It didn't take long, however, for you to see Yamagata in his natural state of being as he quickly rolled and dove for each successive cannon fire. Whenever he missed one he called out and complimented the server. Each server would usually give a cheerful response back.

The harder he worked, the more his usual slicked back hair started to fall. Some strands made their way to his face, thinly veiling the hungry look he gave the court at all times. He was in his zone, his element. He was like an animal. It took all you had to not begin to drift off into a daydream.

That feat became more and more difficult the more you watched him. He was like a warrior. A feudal fighter, taking the spears of the enemy and shattering their attacks.

"Amazing..." you whispered as your eyes were firmly set on Yamagata. His smile was wide as his eyes subtly shifted from the other side of the net to where you stood. You were deep in your fantasies, but it didn't take long for you to realize that your eyes had locked. His heavy breathing and slightly dazed look were intoxicating. Before you knew it, you had raised a hand to him in a wave, giving him a sweet smile. He couldn't help but give a sheepish wave back and a smile.

"Hayato! Eyes up!" A scream soon called out and he whips his head up. A ball soon comes flying from over the net and hits him square in the face. The loud, hollow sound of the ball ricocheting off Yamagata's forehead caused you to wince as it was sent catapulting back over the net.

"Great way to use your head!" A fellow player called out to him.

"Hayato! You're bleeding! Get over here!" a manager beckoned with a towel in her hand. You watched as the injured boy nodded, but gave you one last glance before running over to the concerned mother hen and stop his bleeding. Droplets of crimson were left behind on the court, causing you to wince. Did you cause that? You didn't mean to. You internally screamed as you began to slowly scoot away from the door.

**Third attempt: Failure**

You let out a long sigh before kicking some dust up from off the ground. What a day. You had such confidence in yourself earlier, but it was now all gone. Nothing had worked all day, and you were left with a birthday card and an unread confession. You had opened the chocolates meant for Yamagata and began chowing down to relieve some stress of the day. Nothing had gone like your fantasy. The sweetness of the chocolate really highlighted the bitterness of the situation. With each subtle bite, your heart filled with dread. This was your best shot, wasn't it? And you messed it all up.

"Is this seat taken?"

_Woe is you, you're probably the worst Valentine story ever in the history of Shiratorizawa, I mean, who could mess up that badly 3 times?!_

"Excuse me?"  
 _You caused him to get a nosebleed! In what love story does the handsome man you're trying to woo get an injury by your hands!_

"A-Are you okay?"

_This was it, you would be forever alone, no dates, no Valentines, you had failed in epic proportions. You might as well crawl into a cave and-_

"I'm just gonna go ahead and sit..." His voice finally snapped you out of your spiral, causing you to look to the left of you on the bench you sat on. "Hey!"

It was Yamagata Hayato.

His hair had been let down, and it appeared that he had recently taken a shower. The fresh smell of his body wash wafted off his body and encased your sad aura.

"Y-YAMAGATA!" You jumped and yelled with a mouthful of pitty chocolate. The box went flying out of your lap and onto Yamagata. "OH MY GOD! I-" You stumbled over both your words and your feet as you began careening backward.

_Yeah. Seems about right...._

With quick thinking, Yamagata caught your wrist, keeping you from tumbling ungracefully onto the dirt below. Your breath was trapped in your throat as you stared back at him with wide eyes and parted lips. He panted slightly as he just stood there with his damp hair splayed out over his forehead. His grasp on your wrist was firm and had a certain longing to it.

"S-Sorry!" He became flustered after helping you stabilize yourself and quickly sat down on the bench.

"Thanks, um," You awkwardly fidgeted. All your plans for confessing to him had gone out the window, and you had nothing left. You decided to drink in his company and hastily sit down. After a moment of silence, you decided you were too close and were about to skootch away, but you began to overthink again.

What if he thinks I hate him? But what if he's uncomfortable? I don't want him to think I hate him and be uncomfortable!

"I saw you at practice today," Yamagata commented as he smiled at you.

"AH! Y-YEAH!" Nice going, doofus.

"N-Not that it's wrong or anything! Actually, it's the opposite!" He began to do the same type of panicky talking you were, and it only fed you. "W-Well, not that you HAVE to watch or anything!"

"N-NO! It's okay! I like watching! Ah! Not in a creepy way or anything!"

"No, I like it when people watch! Er! No! I like it when you watch!" Yamagata placed his face in his hands. His ears were a bright red as his hot head created steam. Your nervous laughter suddenly stopped when you saw him fling his eyes downwards.

"Y-Yamagata-kun?" You tilted your head as the moment soon caught up with you. Why was he here? This was far from a fantasy.

"(L/Name)-chan, um," he soon dragged his hands down his face and looked up at you. "Sorry, we don't know each other super well, huh?" Yamagata smiled as he laced his fingers together. "But um... My team says that..." Yamagata let out a sigh before shaking his head. Your mind for once was silent as the boy spoke to you. "No, I think that um..." he stole several glances before sucking in a breath. "I... Kinda liked having you watch me..." your heart began to race as those words left his mouth. "IT WAS ME YOU WERE WATCHING, RIGHT?!" Yamagata panicked as he leaned in close to you and yelled. "Because this became a LOT more embarrassing if you-"

"No no no! I was! I was um!" You shut your mouth tightly before another word could escape.

"Whew," Yamagata let out. "Then I guess that makes it a little less awkward..." he turned towards in an artificially charming way, as if he had practiced. "C-Can I ask that you come and watch more often?"

"Of course! You're amazing when you play!" You spoke from your fast-beating heart. You truly meant what you said, and it clearly worked in wooing over Yamagata. A wide smile cut into his slowly rosening cheeks.

"Thanks! I promise not to get hit in the face next time," He laughed, sending your heart into a frenzy.

"Oh! Right!" you quickly and swiftly pulled out the card you tried to give him earlier. "Happy birthday!" you sang joyously. His eyes widened for only a second before accepting the card.

"Yeah, thanks!" He smiled and began examining the card. Inside your pocket, you held a slip of paper that was the love letter and confession. Your thumb began playing with the edge as you watched his eyes drag across the carefully picked birthday card. Sometimes, things don't go right, but things not going right can lead to something better.

"Ah... those chocolates were for you too..." You nervously tilted your head to the chocolates that now scattered the ground. Yamagata blinked before kneeling down and scrounging whatever he could. You watch in awe as he attempted to piece back together your mistake.

"Ah... they're everywhere..." He popped a chocolate piece that had not touched the dirt into his mouth and smiled.

"Hey! That may be dirty! Be careful!"

With a hearty laugh, you spend another hour chattering on that once desolate bench.


End file.
